Each catalog gets a list and then we make final decisions based on price, variety and shipping costs.
Required reading this time of year includes a stack of seed catalogs. We get lots of them at sillydoggarden and, over the years, have come to rely heavily on a few favorites. For annual flowers, it's hard to go wrong with Select Seeds. This place just seems to be in tune with my taste, stocking lovely old-fashioned blooms that are fragrant, too. Other favorite seed sources include Baker Creek, Johnny's, Territorial and Stokes. Stokes is an especially good source for alyssum and lobelia, two plants that we grow by the flat to edge paths and fill containers. Some annuals are no-brainers that I grow year in and year out, no matter what. Others shift in and out of each year's palette; if I don't have the time (or money!) to grow them one year, they'll more than likely get another turn down the road. And, of course, there's always room for an experiment or two. This year I'm trying Schizopetalon walkeri 'Star Band'. It's described in Select Seeds as having petite feathery flowers with an almond fragrance. Anybody out there have any experience with it?
Here, then, are 10 annuals that are on my list for growing this year. The list isn't all-inclusive (what about heliotrope?), but it's a start.
1. Night phlox (Zaluzianskya capensis 'Midnight Candy'): The delicate white flowers open in the evening, releasing a sweet fragrance that you can almost taste. During the day the flowers curl up into balls, revealing the violet backside of the petals. A great pot plant to grow near where you sit in the evening.
